What happens now?
by Kathryn Anders
Summary: Ryan and Marissa reunite 5 years later. But both are hiding secrets that will test their connection to the fullest. First fanfic that is being posted. Reviews are welcomed.


Marissa storms into the kitchen eyes searching frantically for him. Realizing he isn't in there she heads towards the pool house, his hide away from the world; in hindsight she thinks; hers too. She whips the door open to find him sitting on the bed, head hanging low in his hands.

"What, so you get to be mad now!?" She fumes at him. Closing the door behind her.

When he looks up at her, she can tell something is wrong. She sees a Ryan she hasn't seen in a long time, her Ryan.

He stands from the bed, emotion evident in his eyes. "You're damn right I get to be mad Marissa! You hid him from me! How am I supposed to look past that? We have been through a lot, possibly everything imaginable, but this?... I don't know if I can trust you after this." She stares back at him in disbelief, how can he say these things? His eyes seem to contradict what his mouth is saying. There she sees the hurt, the betrayal, but more so than anything, she sees the boy she once loved.

But what catches her attention most is the way he speaks, his tone. He only speaks to her this way when she says or does things that reminds him of his past. Then it clicks in her mind...his mother.

Still she presses on, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just wanted to come home? Maybe I wanted the father of my child to have the chance to get to know his son? I'm not running away from my problems anymore. I'm facing them head on...For James and for you. I'm not giving up on you." Her voice cracks a bit at the end, despite her best efforts.

Ryan takes a hesitant step towards her. She blinks a few times, noticing that he has entered her personal space. Willing herself not to bolt out the door. Taking a deep breath, she continues, "Look, I know what I did was wrong. But, I needed to prove to myself that I could stand on my own two feet and take care of him. And yeah ok, so that took longer than the year it originally was planned, but I'm here now. I came back." Her eyes burning into his as she confesses this.

Ryan closes his eyes as he hears the last part, cutting off their connection that was surely building, needing to think about all that she had just said. Realizing that she was right. Out of everyone who has left him in his life, she is the only one who has returned to him. Wanting to make amends, not just act like the problems never existed in the first place.

Marissa can't believe how much she is saying to him at this point. Talking to each other before was always tough for them. But now that it's not just the two of them anymore, she needs to share all of the things that have been weighing on her mind all this time. She knows that he'll understand... in time; at least she hopes he will.

Breathing hard now, they stare at each other. Taking in the others presence, something they haven't done in years. It's oddly comforting almost as if they were supposed to be here, now, together again.

His eyes narrow, "How am I even supposed to believe he's mine?"

Marissa raises her eyebrows and aggressively tilts her head to the side and scoffed. Marissa glares at him, "What is that supposed to mean..?" Ryan interrupts her "...Oh come on, don't do that Riss. We both know how things were back then, when you were with..him. For all I know James is his bastard kid...Nice choice by the way." He mutters under his breath, but she hears him.

She takes a unnerved step toward him, she's so close that she can see the small flecks of grey in his eyes. Looking into his eyes, "You don't get to do that. You didn't stick around to help back then. So you don't get to judge the way I chose to repair what you left behind again. Let's get one thing straight; he's yours. Looks like I'm Teresa this time around." She let out a shaky breath, "The people we were in high school graduated."

Ryans whole body deflates, he knows she is right. He looked back up at her and; for just a moment; he sees the girl he used to know. The feelings he has for her; ones that he had subdued all these years, come rushing back full force. But then he remembers something...

Without a word, he is across the room facing away from her. He had to breathe fresh air, away from her intoxicating scent.

Hearing him use his nickname for her, she knows they are getting somewhere. With hope in her heart, she crosses the room too, staying close to him. She tentatively places her hand on his back, silently letting him know that she was still there. "Ryan..."

He can't keep his feelings at bay any longer and spins around and grabs her hand, pulling her into him. Closing his eyes and leaning in, he kisses her, strong and full. He claims her lips in his, she tears her hand free of his grip and pulls away. When he opens his eyes he searches hers, sees her lips are still puckered, a confused but sensual expression on her face. Before he can think, his hand is on the nape of her neck dragging her heavenly lips back to his. He kisses her this time with more passion and purpose. He feels her respond, hands gripping his shoulders. His find their familiar place on her hips, which he uses to press her flush against his body.

When he feels her whimper into his mouth, he progresses; walking them backwards towards the bed. He lets her fall gently onto the bed first, he opens his eyes to see her, gauging the situation. Then he sees it, the unwaveringly sexy little glimmer in her eyes, he missed that look. Sitting back up, her hand blindly comes up to find his shirt and bunches it into her fist and she pulls him so that he is laying on top of her. They move back to the middle of the bed. She allows herself to feel all of him. Running her hands up and down his torso the way she knows drives him crazy. Pawing at his muscles, teasing special places that she knew like the back of her hand. Raking her nails down his back, stopping just above his waistband of his briefs, causing his breathing to slow.

His lips leave hers to settle on her collarbone, nipping and sucking at the skin of her chest. She bites her lip and tries to hold in a moan, but it comes to no use and comes out anyway. Hearing her enjoy his actions sends Ryan into overdrive. He nudges his hips into hers and elicits his own gratification. Marissa arches her back into him in anticipation. Her legs find their way to his waist letting him know that it's ok, not to stop.

She takes his head in her hands and she guides his mouth back to hers, missing the sensations his lips invoked within her. As they continue to kiss hungrily his hand slides up and down her body, greedily groping her, reclaiming her as his own. Marissa feels this and releases a throaty groan into his mouth, and revels in the feelings, taking advantage of his newly exposed shoulder. She leans forward to kiss his earlobe, biting it gently and moving her lips to his neck, slowly kissing her way down. She reaches where his neck and shoulder connect proceeding to close her lips around the pulsing muscle, suckling on the skin a little. She feels him freeze and shudder above her and knows she hit the right spot. She smiles into him. Skimming her hands down to the bottom of his shirt, she slips her hands underneath it, reacquainting herself with his body.

Ryan feels her hands making their way up his back, so he lifts himself up using one of his legs, as he moves, he hits a tender spot for Marissa causing her to lose some restraint and dig her nails into him in ecstasy, letting out another satisfied moan in his ear. Overwhelmed with stimulation, she pulls him down so he is on her once more. Ryan pushes back up, and smirks at her; and swiftly removes his shirt.

When Marissa sees Ryan move, everything around them seems to go in slow motion. All she can see is his upper body, sure she's seen it before; but now, in the midst of everything going on, she finds herself almost drooling at the sight.

She needs more of him and now. Lifting her legs higher on his body, squeezing and drawing him in closer.

Ryan barely registers her legs moving up on him as he moves his hand back down to remove her top. Feeling the electricity and heat between them that is created through their touches, it's almost too much.

Marissa sits up to assist him in the shedding of her top, kissing every inch of his exposed chest in the process. She feels him groan and chuckle thickly, making her giggle against him. Enjoying feeling the effect she used to have on him again. She feels him harden even more.

She stops him suddenly placing her hands on his chest, catching his attention. "Wait, wait." He kisses her again, distracting her train of thought, "Mmm...If we have learned anything... The door is locked...right?" She smiles after the fact, knowing the last thing they need is to get caught.

Ryan disentangles himself from her, quickly making his way over to lock the door. Marissa sits up, kicking her shoes off and taking a good long look at him, her eyes settle on his current state and she can't help but blush and smirk. "I've missed this... you...so much." She says in a laced voice. Ryan turns around and notices where her eyes are focused, and coyly responds, "You have no idea how hard it has been to be around you and NOT do this." He says at length.

Crawling back over to her, he pulls back, "You sure..? I mean I don't want to pressure yo—" His words are stopped by her index finger on his lips, silencing him, "Ryan, I want this. I want you...So, stop thinking and let's enjoy this." She almost pleads. She leans up and kisses him hard, causing him to fall down on the bed, taking her with him.

Ryan reaches behind her back to unhook her bra, loving the feeling of her arching her back to allow him to have better access. Removing the offending material, he takes a moment to take in the sight before him, a topless, very aroused, Marissa Cooper. "So beautiful..." he murmured. Marissa feels tears start to prick in the back of her eyes, stunned by the emotion of it all. Looking up at him she knows he can probably see them, so she tries to blink them away. Flipping them over so she's on top of him, straddling his waist. She sits up on him, rotating her hips, creating a delicious friction between them. When his hands graze the underside of her breasts, she quivers at the scorching touch. Her eyebrows knit together, her desire for him building. She forgot how good they were together. She lets out a contented sigh, placing her hands on top of his, letting him grab them fully.

Shaking and slightly panting, he starts to play with her, her hands fall to rest on his chest, continuing to grind into him. Simply enjoying the connection between them that she once thought was gone.

She bends down to kiss him hard, opening his mouth with hers and letting her tongue enter. Her hands rest on either side of his head to steady herself over him. She drops one away to get closer to him, placing her free hand on his cheek then to his hair. His arms encircle her body, stroking the soft skin of her lower back. "Do you...umm...do you have a...?" She asks him innocently, in between kisses. This question makes Ryans hands halt, he realizes he doesn't have any. "Umm... I, I don't. I'll understand if you want to stop." He looks up at her nervously but is relieved to see a naughty grin on her face. "No; no it's ok...I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we didn't use one. In fact..." She kisses him deeply. "I prefer it that way. It feels better." She's toying with his self control now and she knows it.

He feels it slipping away and sighs warmly, moving so he can sit up, keeping her in his lap. He lowers his hands to her legs, taking each one and moving them so she is sitting fully on him. Making sure that she can feel his erection the entire time, rocking her back and forth. He is testing her self control too.

Out of the blue, Ryan's brain is having trouble concentrating, he knows he should tell her. But he can't seem to stop himself from kissing her; touching her. She's a breath of fresh air. Like he's finally where he belongs, with her.

Marissa notices a change in his demeanor, she can tell that Ryan is deliberating something in his mind. His head is settled between her boobs, continuing to please her.

"What's wrong?" She struggled to ask after a minute. "Nothing.." she hears him say, slightly muffled, feeling him suck on her neck. She is still amazed at how well she can read his moods. "Nope, not buying it. Talk to me." She says a little forcefully, shaking her head free. Ryan leans back, his arms still locked around her. Looking up at her with a strange look on his face, one that she can't read. She leans into him, showing him that she is there and listening. She runs her hand through his hair. A calming gesture she knows he used to respond to.

"I'm with someone..." she finally hears him say. Her head snaps back, mouth falls agape, shock written all over her face. She is off of him within seconds, instantly looking for her discarded clothing. She finds his shirt and throws it over her exposed body. She's about to run out the door, but she stops herself; instead she turns to face him. "You wait to tell me that now?! I cannot believe you?!" She questions, hurt in her eyes. Ryan climbs off the bed and stands up, but rooted in his spot. "I know, I know. But I can't think with you here. Especially when THAT was happening, you know that." He defends. She stares at him incredibly, "You're blaming me? Who started THAT?!" She points to the bed, still trying to recover from the moments of euphoria she was swimming in only minutes ago.

"Who is she?" She demands. Ryan looks down in defeat, "Taylor." He answers. Marissa leans forward in shock, "As in Townsend...?" Ryan stares hopelessly at her, letting out a short breath. Marissa shakes her head and lets out an empty laugh. "So what happens now?" She asks, running a hand through her hair. Ryan walks over to her, trying to take her hands in his, but she backs away not letting him touch her. "I had to let you go somehow ok? I closed off that part of me just to get by. You left Marissa. I thought you were gone, for good. I didn't know what to do." He tried to reason with her. Marissa says breathless, "I get it, but, what did this mean?" She lets her words fill the space between them. "I am not Theresa 2.0...I'm not the friend you sometimes sleep with when it's convenient for you." she says in finality. Ryan hangs his head, "You think letting go of you was easy for me? Having you back in my life again...it's harder than I thought it would be." He admits. "Where do we go from here?" She asks rigidly, but in her eyes, the tears are brimming.

Ryan takes her head in his hands, relieved that she doesn't pull away this time, he moves a piece of her hair back behind her ear. He leans his head in, his forehead on hers. Ryan looks down at her and she lets out the breath that she didn't know she was holding, smiling at him faintly. She leans in to kiss him again, sealing their fate. They stand together, holding each other.

Marissa is the first to pull out of the hug, "I have to go." Ryan lets her step away, "Why..?" He asks, slight confusion in his eyes. Marissa tries to hold herself together, "Because, being here with you right now is killing me...I'll see you at New Years ok?" She asks in a hopeful tone, a small smile graces her lips. Ryan nods and says, "I—New Years, ok." His face caused her heart to ache for him, but she timidly smiles to let him know she heard him. With that she turns to leave. The brimming tears from before finally falling once she's out of the room.

Ryan stares at the door, blinking his own emotions back. He has a decision to make.

End scene.


End file.
